Music

Music

In April, the steps of Old Main will be used as more than an entrance into Penn State’s administrative home. The School of Theatre will stage a production of “Julius Caesar” on the steps, with three performances at 7:30 p.m. April 15 to 17.

Travis DeCastro, Gerardo Edelstein, Maria Baukus, and Bill Kelly discuss the upcoming production of "Julius Caesar" and Philharmonic Orchestra concert that will take place on the steps of Old Main. The play will be presented April 15-17, 7:30 p.m.

The Committee for Early Modern Studies will present a lecture by Wendy Heller, professor of music and director of the program in Italian studies at Princeton University. Heller's lecture, "Sylvan Fantasies: The Locus Amoenus in Seicento Opera," will be at 4 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 26, in Palmer Lipcon Auditorium, Palmer Museum of Art.

Brussels Jazz Orchestra, which co-performed the music for the Oscar-winning best picture “The Artist,” will pay its first visit to Eisenhower Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. on March 19 to perform some of the best songs by its musicians plus a work that marries big band music and graphic stories.

Penn State's ninth annual President's Concert will occur at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 3, at the Kimmel Center's Verizon Hall in Philadelphia. The concert will include performances by the Concert Choir, Symphonic Wind Ensemble and Philharmonic Orchestra.

Penn State faculty clarinet professor Anthony J. Costa will present a recital on Friday, Feb. 27 at 8 p.m. in Esber Recital Hall. His program features the world premiere of "Three Things You Didn’t Know About the Dark" written by Penn State composition faculty member Paul Barsom. Costa will also be joined by voice professor Jennifer Trost for a set of pieces by German classical-era composer Louis Spohr. He is assisted by Anne Deighton, piano. Free admission. This performance is available via livestreamed video at music.psu.edu/livestream.

The British baroque ensemble Florilegium will visit Penn State's University Park campus for a free performance at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 25, at the Downtown Theatre Center, located at the corner of Allen and Beaver (note venue change). Performing members include Ashley Solomon, baroque flute; Bojan Cicic, baroque violin; and Terence Charlston, harpsichord.

Penn State's Mallet Ensemble and Percussion Ensemble I will perform their mid-semester concerts at 8 p.m. Monday, Feb. 23, in Esber Recital Hall. Featured on the program are an arrangement for mallet ensemble by Penn State percussion student Kyle McKay, and a composition composed for the Penn State Percussion Ensemble by North Carolina-based composer Nathan Daughtrey. The ensembles are conducted by percussion faculty member Dan C. Armstrong. Free admission.

Chi-chi Nwanoku, principal bass with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, will present a two-hour masterclass for Penn State students at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 20, in Esber Recital Hall. Her visit to Penn State is hosted by distinguished professor of music Robert Nairn, and sponsored by the University Park Allocation Committee (UPAC). Admission is free.

Guest violist Scott Slapin will visit the School of Music on Monday, Feb. 16 to present a recital and masterclass, and to coach Penn State violists. His recital, beginning at 5:30 p.m. in Esber Recital Hall, includes a chaconne by Johann Sebastian and Paganini’s “Caprice #13,” both originally composed for violin and transcribed for viola. Slapin’s own composition, “Caprice,” also will be performed. The recital will be followed by a brief reception hosted by the Penn State Viola Society.

The inaugural Thaw Festival kicks off Wednesday, Feb. 25, when the College Town Film Festival begins at the State Theatre in downtown State College, and concludes Sunday, March 1, with TEDxPSU at Penn State’s Schwab Auditorium.